Albumin is used to treat patients with severe burns, shock or blood loss. It is also used to supplement media used for growing higher eukaryotic cells. At present, the demand for the product is satisfied by albumin extracted from human blood. Examples of extraction and separation techniques include those disclosed in: JP 03/258 728 on the use of a cation exchanger; EP 428 758 on the use of anion exchange; and EP 452 753 on the use of heating, adding salt and diafiltering.
The production of rHA in microorganisms has been disclosed in EP 330 451 and EP 361 991. Purification techniques for rHA have been disclosed in: WO 92/04367, removal of matrix-derived dye; EP 464 590, removal of yeast-derived colorants; and EP 319 067, alkaline precipitation and subsequent application of the rHA to a lipophilic phase.